The Moon and Memories
by alynwa
Summary: Written for the Weekly Picfic Challenge on LJ. Napoleon and Illya are on a stakeout when Napoleon strikes up a conversation.


The Moon and Memories

"Illya?"

"What?"

"Have you noticed how big and luminescent the moon is tonight?"

Growling in annoyance the Russian replied, "Have _you_ noticed we are supposed to be conducting surveillance of a suspected THRUSH safe house? Napoleon, please, I have black grease paint on my face, I am lying on the cold wet ground under a bush that is apparently the summer vacation home for a family of daddy long – legs and I have a sneaking suspicion that nothing will transpire tonight. Must I also be irritated to death?"

The source of his irritation sighed heavily and stretched. Similarly camouflaged and dressed in black slacks and a turtleneck, Napoleon gazed again at the moon and reached for his binoculars, but not before the look on his face was noticed. "Alright, Napoleon, tell me: What is it about the moon tonight that has put that melancholy expression on your face?"

The two men exchanged looks; the brunet's said _Do you really care to know? _while the blond's was saying _I apologize for snapping at you. This time._ Napoleon nodded his head in complete understanding of their unspoken conversation and stated, "On a night with a moon very like this one, I proposed to Brianna. We were nineteen. That was the happiest night of my life." He looked through his binoculars to the structure in the distance. "Still no lights or other signs of life."

Illya watched his partner watching for bad birds. _Well, he is the one who brought Brianna up. _"May I ask you something, Napoleon?"

"You may ask me anything, Tovarisch," came the reply as Napoleon continued to watch the building.

"What happened to your wife?" Illya shifted to get more comfortable. "If I have overstepped my bounds, please say so."

Napoleon put the binoculars down. "No, you haven't," he replied, "Not at all. The US was fighting a war with North Korea, or I _should _say, we were involved in a police action against North Korea and my father had pulled strings to get me exempted from service. Brianna and I had been dating since the tenth grade; I truly loved her and since I didn't have to go to war, I decided to ask her to marry me."

"The moon looked just like it does tonight; full and bright. We were parked at Lovers' Lane and I proposed. She accepted and I pushed for an early wedding date because...well, because I had stopped dating other girls and she wanted to remain a virgin until married and I couldn't hold out much longer. We got married three months later."

"About a month after we married, she decided we should have a dinner party. She was determined to do all the cooking, so she left me to clean our apartment while she went to the farmer's market."

"Almost two hours had gone by and she hadn't returned. I was just starting to wonder why she was taking so long when the doorbell rang. I opened it expecting to have bags of groceries shoved into my arms, but instead, there was Frank Jones, a guy I had gone to high school with who had become a town deputy. 'Napoleon, I'm so sorry. There's been an accident. You need to come with me,' he said. Turns out, an elderly man apparently mistook his gas for the brake and slammed into Brianna as she was going through an intersection. The EMTs assured me she was killed instantly and didn't suffer. After the funeral, I signed up for the Army and here I am."

The Russian, not knowing what to say, rubbed Napoleon's arm and picked up the binoculars to check that the building was still unoccupied. After a few moments he said quietly, "I sincerely wish that did not happen to you, Napoleon."

"Thank you, Partner Mine. That all happened a lifetime ago; sometimes, it seems like it happened to a different person. My life now has a purpose it didn't have then. I'm enjoying myself."

Illya grinned. "By being shot at, poisoned, beaten and almost killed on a regular basis?"

He grinned back. "Yes because I believe it is for the greater good. And I met an incredibly stubborn, prickly Russian who became my best friend and that's a very good thing. Now, if no one shows up at that safe house tonight, that would be a good thing, too. Even spies can use a slow night."

Illya handed the binoculars to his partner and said, "When we leave here, breakfast is on me, Napoleon."

"I like how the full moon affects you! Thank you, Illya."


End file.
